US troops along with Iraqi security and intelligence forces killed a top Islamic State terror group leader in an air raid in northwestern Iraq, officials from both countries said.
Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, also known as ‘Abu Khadijah,’ was described as the “deputy caliph” of the terror group and “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world,” Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in an X post.
US President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter on Friday evening, saying “the ISIS leader that was a fugitive in Iraq was eliminated. He was relentless pursued by our brave warfighters. His vile life was brought to an end, along with another one of ISIS, in cooperation with the Iraqi Government and the Kurdish Regional Government. PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!”
The “Global ISIS #2 leader, Chief of Global Operations and the Delegated Committee Emir” was one of a second ISIS militant killed in a precision attack Thursday in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
